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ABSTRACT

Our invention hybridizes ‘ball sports,’ including soccer, baseball, tennis, and etc., and devices converting mechanical energy (through impact or shaking) to produce power while playing or participating in sports. Modifications include embedding sensors into a ball to identify the degree of kicking or hitting, or utilize them in the context of other computer or AV-based games. 
     The energy-producing ball embeds the coiled-impact sensors and/or shake-to-charge technology, vibration, or other piezo-electric materials to convert the mechanical energy of kicking, hitting, or bouncing into electrical energy. The energy can be stored internally, internally on a removable device, externally, or in some hybrid. The ball can be a source of light, contain housings for light sources or battery-charging adapters, or plugged into other energy-collection/storage units. The stored energy within the ball can be used to charge batteries, power light sources, cell phones, radios, or other electrical products.

INTRODUCTION

Our invention hybridizes the ubiquitous ‘ball sports’ including, but not limited to, soccer, football, baseball, tennis, and other, and devices converting mechanical energy (through impact, material deformation, or movement) to produce power while playing or participating in sports. Modifications include embedding sensors into a ball to identify how hard it has been kicked or hit, or utilizing them in the context of other computer or AV-based games.

The energy-producing ball is fitted with one or more of the following energy generators: one or more conductive solenoids with one or more magnets internal to the solenoid that can move upon movement of the ball (shake-to-charge technology), piezoelectric materials covering some or all of the ball surface or subsurface layer embedded or attached to the shell or near the outer edge of the ball that will allow the conversion of the mechanical energy of deformation stemming from kicking, hitting, or bouncing the ball into electrical energy, or the inclusion of one or more eccentric rotors internal to the ball that move as the ball moves, thus generating energy. The energy can be stored internally, internally on a removable device (including but not limited to a battery or batteries, capacitor(s), supercapacitor(s), some combination of those, some combination of those and other energy storage devices, or other energy storage devices alone or in combination), externally, or one or more of these possible positions. The ball can itself be a source of light, contain housings for light sources or battery-charging adapters, or it can be plugged in to some other energy-collection/storage unit. The stored energy within the ball can be used to charge batteries, power light sources (including but not limited to bulbs, LEDs, or electroluminescent polymers), cell phones, radios, or other electrical products. This can provide a mobile source of electricity and a primary or secondary source of electricity in areas where there may be a lack of reliable electrical grid power.

PRIOR ART Energy Harvesting

Devices exist to harvest energy, such as a light generating flashlight system device, which utilizes a large centrally located magnet to slide past a current induction wire (U.S. Pat. No. 6,893,141), and piezoelectrics, such as a circuit which passively discharges energy from a piezoelectric device and stores the energy in a power storage element (U.S. Pat. No. 6,894,460), and electrostrictive polymers used to harvest electrical power from the general movement of objects such as from human walking motion, incorporated into the soles of footwear (U.S. Pat. No. 6,433,465). But to date there have been no balls or other sports equipment that uses energy harvesting devices, either internally in or externally of the ball, to generate power either for use in powering internal or attached electronic devices, or to power other external electronic devices.

Balls with Internal Electrical Devices:

Balls exist with implanted devices, such as golf balls with embedded GPS chips designed to allow ball localization (U.S. Pat. No. 6,634,959), balls with embedded lights to illuminate the ball or its surroundings (U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,686), or a speedometer to indicate the speed at which the ball was thrown (U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,351). But to date there have been no balls or other sports equipment that generates power either for use in powering internal or attached electronic devices, or to power other, external electronic devices.

INVENTION

Our invention is to harvest energy from a ball or other sports piece that faces shaking or impact during play. This energy might be in the form of material deformation resulting from impact of the ball on the ground, backboard, bat, foot, knee, head, or other surface, or might result from the motion of the ball being used to pass a magnet or magnets through a conductive coil or coils in or attached to some surface of the ball.

The ball used in the invention might be solid, partially solid, gas or liquid filled, an the shell of the ball might be single or multiple layers, and might be made of rubber, leather, PVC, natural or synthetic fabric, or other material, or some combination thereof.

One manifestation of the invention is the suspension of one or more conductive coils in the interior of a solid or gas-filled ball such that when the ball moves, one or more magnets pass through the coil or coils, generating a current. In a gas-filled ball, the coils may span from one inner surface of the ball to another, or may be suspended by some other means in a way such that one or more ends of the coils are not touching the inner walls of the ball. In a solid ball, the coils may be suspended at any position within the ball.

A second manifestation of the invention is where piezoelectric material is attached or embedded in the shell of the ball and may cover all or some part of the ball's surface. The piezoelectric material may also be embedded or attached below the surface of the ball, and may cover some or all of the surface to which it is attached. Multiple layers of piezoelectric material may be included in some or all of the ball surface, and may, but need not, be separated by some other material.

A third manifestation of the invention involves the incorporation of one or more eccentric rotors into the ball, such that when the ball moves, the rotors turn and generate electricity.

A fourth manifestation of the invention is one where one of the first three manifestations are implemented (or some combination of them) and the energy produced is stored in one or more batteries, capacitors, supercapacitors, or combination of those or other energy storage devices. These devices may be interior to the ball, attached or embedded in the surface of the ball, or on the surface of the ball, or some combination thereof. These energy storage units may be removable or not.

A fifth manifestation of the invention is one where the fourth manifestation is implemented and there is an outlet or outlets in or on the ball allowing for connection to a device requiring power, such as a cell phone, cell phone battery, portable MP3 player, light, portable computer, or other electronic device.

A sixth manifestation of the invention is one where one of the first four manifestations are implemented (or some combination of them), and the energy harvested is used to power a device build into or attached to the ball. This device might be an accelerometer, pressure sensor, GPS, speedometer, speaker, or other electronic device which may or may not have an output display. 

1. Any ball or sphere (hitherto designated ‘Ball’) designed for play or sport containing devices in its body or in its shell which can harvest impact, deformation, kinetic, piezoelectric, or induced energy.
 2. Claim 1 where the Ball is (but not limited to) a soccer ball, volleyball, basketball, football, hockey puck, cricket ball, tennis ball, squash ball, racquet ball, or baseball. These objects may, but need not, be of the size regulated by professional or amateur game associations in the United States, Europe, or International agency.
 3. Claims 1-2 where the energy generating or harvesting device is comprised of a conductive coil or coils with one or more magnets inside the coil (shake-to-charge technology).
 4. Claim 1-2 where magnet(s) embedded in the Ball move through a coil(s) by the motion of the Ball, thereby generating power.
 5. Claims 1-2 where the energy harvesting is completed by use of piezo-electric materials, on or contained in the Ball or surface of the Ball covering either all or part of the Ball.
 6. Claims 1-2 where the energy is generated by the use of one or more eccentric rotors inside or attached to the Ball.
 7. Claim 5 where the piezo-electric material capture impact or kinetic energy of contact with the Ball by a foot, hand, arm, head, knee, other body part, bat, hockey stick, lacrosse stick, racket, goal post, backboard and rim, or other sports implement, or the ground, walls, and other contact surfaces to generate power, or where the Ball is enabled with ‘Crowd Farm’ technology (a specific application of the piezo-electric energy harvesting device).
 8. Claim 1-7 where stored energy can be extracted via an outlet in the Ball.
 9. Claim 1-7 where the energy produced is stored in a capacitor, capacitors, a supercapacitor, supercapacitors, a battery, or batteries, which can be internal to the Ball, attached externally, attached to the surface, or in multiple components comprising some or all of these options.
 10. Claims 1-7 where the Ball surface contains a housing or housings for LEDs, P-LEDs, O-LEDs, electroluminescent polymers, fluorescent bulbs, or other electric light sources that are fed by the energy storage unit in or attached to the ball, or is the Ball in whole or in part is made up of light-emitting material.
 11. Claims 1-7 where the Ball itself is made of material in whole or in part that lights up directly.
 12. Claim 1-7 where the device storing the harvested energy is a removable internal battery or batteries, or if the battery or batteries are not removable.
 13. Claim 1-7 where the voltage output is amplified or diminished by internal or external electronics.
 14. Claim 1-7 where any computer or AV-based games may use this product/technology as a game product, console, or controller.
 15. Claim 1-7 where any electronic or video games may use this product/technology as a game product, console, or controller.
 16. Claim 1-7 with sensors embedded to measure and/or display kicking force.
 17. Claim 1-7 to be used for measuring/improving performance by displaying how much force has come in contact with the sports ball, or for use of such information recreationally.
 18. Claims 1-7 where the energy harvesting is exchangeable between the Ball and other Devices.
 19. Claim 1-7 where the energy harvesting technology and product is a removable unit from the Ball.
 20. Claim 1-7 where each component of the energy harvesting technology and product is reusable and replaceable within the removable unit. 